I would say so. The buying your own car and paying for college IMO don't equal poor, but by law school standards free/reduced lunch does. Regardless of definitions, it's affected you so why not talk about it?

I think it depends on how you discuss it. If you define yourself as "woe is me," then yeah, you might come off as a jerk. If you look at it as how it shaped you and your values, how it affected you as a person, then it'll sound just fine, IMO.

While I hated writing my DS, I think it helped my applications. My situation growing up was similar to what you describe. I felt awkward trying to use it, but eventually I got over that. I definitely tied my experience in with how it shaped me, I think that makes a difference.

You have experience that is unusually for law applicants. If law schools want to favor you for that reason, you should do what you can to make the strongest truthful case possible.

what I would do.... is to write abt ur free lunch experience in an introductory paragraph. talk about an interesting story or insight from ur free lunch experience. start off with something fun.... making ur PS interesting. I read a sample PS online.... forgot where from, and the author talked abt his experience growing up with his sister in circus circus while his parents gambled away. you could try to do something like that... talk abt how ur fre lunch experience has changed you. and how unexpectedly you have achieved to get to where you are today.

sorry i meant to explain more clearly but got lazy. i meant unexpectedly because from the essay sample i was talking abt... the guy was talking about how circus circus is a surprising/ unexpected place to breed a law school student. i was just trying to draw the parallel.... that altho there are stereotypes that law school students come from middle classed families with a professional background... it doesnt have to be that way. it just means that under the disadvantaged background of being poor.... you have to overcome all that stuff but you can still do very well and become a law student. you should google that PS sample i talked about. just type in law school personal statement sample, and it should be within the first 10 links.